Machine



(No Model.)

W. R. FOWLER.

CLOTH CUTTING MAOHiNE.

Patented Aug. 2, 1881..

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

W LLIAM R. FOWLER, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, AssieNoa'To V MARTINJ. MYERS, OF SAME PLACE.

CLOTH-CUTTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent -No. 245,151, dated August2, 1881.

Application filed July 7, 1881. (No model.)

V To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, WILLIAM R. FOWLER,

aoitizen of the United States, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,haveinvented certain lmprovements in Machines for Cutting Cloth andother Materials, of which the following is struct such amachin'e' as toinsure perfect freedom of movement of the knife-carrying frame withoutinterfering-with the propertransmission of power, other objects beingthe improvement of minor parts of the cutting device, all as hereinafterfully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1; is a. side view, partly insection, of my improved cutting-machine; Fig. 2, a sectional view ofpart of the same drawn to an enlarged scale;

Fig. 3, a front view of part of Fig. 2; Fig. 4,

a plan view of part of Fig. 2; Fig. 5, an end view of part of Fig. 1;Fig. 6, a detached view, showing one of the features of my invention inconnection with a modified knife-operating device, and Fig. 7 a viewshowing a modified form of shaft-operating mechanism.

In ;Fig. 1, A represents part of the worktable, to one edge of which issecured avertical standard, B, having at the top a horizontal arm, D,projecting over the table. The-standard B has a stud on which to rns avertical pul ley, E,power being applied to the latterv either directlyorby means of belts or other gearing from.an adjacent power-drivenshaft. 7

A belt, a, passes around the pulley E, over idler-pulleyso and a, andaround a horizontal pulley, F, to the central opening of which is fittedthe two-part socket b, adapted to a ball at the lower end of a stem, 1),secured to and projecting downward from the arm D of the standard B, theball and socket occupying such a position in the pulley that the lattercan swing freely without danger of casting 011' the belt a.

From the pulley F project downward a series of pins, (1, which areadapted to and can slide freely in tubes 01 carried by a ring, (1, onthe upper end of a shaft, Gr, the lower end of the latter carrying auniversal joint, J, of the peculiar construction described hereinafter.The joint J has a socket, e, to which is adapted the enlarged upper endof a vertical spindle, j, which turns in a bearing in a barrel, 9,secured to a vertical standard, It, on a plate, 6, the lo'wcr end ofsaid spindle f carrying abevcl-wheel which gears with a bevel-pinion ona horizontal shaft, f, adapted to bearings in the standard h and barrelgand carrying a rotary cutting-knife, m. The latter may consist of asimple circular plate of steel with sharpened edge; but Iprefer to makeit in the form of a circular; disk, with recesses 70 in the edge, soas'to form a series of cutting-segments l, and thereby facilitate theaction of the knife.

The plate 1', standard h, and barrel gform what 1 term a knife-carryingframe, H, which also 0 rrics the gearing for operating said knife. Thebarrel 9 has a handle, j, by which it may be readily manipulated by theoperator, and in order to prevent accident I protect the rear edge ofthe knife m by means of a segmental guard-plate, a, secured to thestandard it and overlapping the edge of the knife, (see Figs. 2 and 3.)

The plate '6 rests upon the-table A, and the cloth orother material tobecut rests on said plate, which, with the cutting-knife and its drivingdevices, is moved about over the table so as to follow the lines of apattern marked outhe cloth, the latter being brought under the action ofthe knife by a wedge -shaped block, 8, arranged adjacent to thecutting-edge of said knife, and secured to the plate 1', so as to beadjustable thereon as the knife becomes worn and necessitates a greaterelevation of the cloth in order to effect the cutting of the same.

The universal joint J on the lower end of the transmitting-shaft G isshown in Figs. 2 and 4, on reference to which it will be 0bserved thatthe lower end of the shaft G is forked and pivoted at ac to a ring, 3which is pivoted at ac to an outer ring, 3 the latter being pivoted at xto the forked upper end of the socket e, which receives, and when thedevice is in use forms in effect part of, the spindle f.

It will be observed that the centers .1", .r, and a are equidistant fromeach other, so that the spindle f has three equidistant centers ofvibration in respect to the shaft G, more perfect freedom of movementbeing thus insured than can he gained by the use of an ordinaryuniversal joint having but two centers of vibration at right angles toeach other.

The number of centers of vibration in my improved joint can be increasedby simply increasing the number of rings 3 y, &c., the centers being soarranged as to be equidistant.

The construction and arrangement of the driving devices above describedpermits the ready movement of the plate 2' with the cut ting-knife andits operatingdevices to any part of the table, the universal joint inthe pulley F permitting the transmitting shaft to be inclined in anydirection, and the connection between the said shaft and pulley beingcapable of expanding and contracting to the extent demanded by suchmovement, while the univeral joint J insures the maintenance of theplate 5 and the cutting-knife in proper operative position whateverangle may be assumed by the transmitting-shaft G.

In cases where it is necessary to cut from the cloth or other materialnumbers of strips of uniform width throughout, I form in the top of thetable A, or in a plate to be attached thereto a number of parallelgrooves, v, and secure to the under side of the plate 2' a lug, r,adapted to said grooves, the latter serving as guides for the cuttingdevice and enabling the cutting operation to be performed more rapidlyand accurately than where the cutting de vice has to be guided by theoperator. After traversing one groove 1 the lug r of the plate t'isadapted to another groove at the proper distance from the first andanother cut made, the operation being repeated until the desired numberof strips have been cut. The grooves, being equidistant, furnish a meansof readily gaging the width of the cut strips, so as to insure theperfect uniformity of the latter.

It should be understood that the lug r is detachable from the plate 1',so that it does-not interfere with the ordinary use of the latter.

Hung to one edge of the table A is a frame, M, carrying a shaft, 1), 011one end of which is a friction-wheel, q, the opposite end of the shaftcarrying an emery-wheel, t, for grinding the knife m, the said wheelbeing made in the form of a disk, to, with central conical or taperingprojection w.

The cutting-edges of the segmental portions 1 of the knife an aresharpened by pressing the same against the flat face of the disk 10, theknife, as well as the emery-wheel, being revolved, if desired. Ingrinding the recessed portions of the knife, however, the conical ortapering projection 10 is used, and in this case it is necessary todetach the knife and its operating devices from the shaft G in order toeffect the proper manipulation of said knife in respect to theemery-wheel, the knife being prevented from turning by means of asuitable instrument introduced into the openings 20 shown in Fig. 3.

The frame M is acted upon by a spring, N, the tendency of which is toretain the said frame either in the operative position shown by fulllines in Fig. 5-that is to say, with the friction-wheel q in contactwith the periphery of the pulley E--or in the position shown by dottedlines in said Fig. 5, the frame M, in the latter case, resting against asuitable stop, and the wheel q being free from contact with the pulleyE.

In Fig.6 1 have shown a modification of my invention in which areciprocating knifeis substituted for the rotating knife, a pin on theknife being adapted to the slot of a rotating cam, m, the spindle fofwhich is adapted to bearings on the standard h.

One of the features of my invention is the formation on the universaljoint J at the lower end of the shaft G of a socket, 0, adapted for thereception and retention of the upper end of the spindle f of theknife-operatin g device, for by this means one cutting device can bereadily detached and another substituted when a change in the characterof the work, an accident to the knife,orotl1cr cause demands such asubstitution. The means employed for retaining the end of the spindle inthe socketand preventing the same from turning independently thereof maybe spring-pins adapted to openings in the spindle, as shown in Fig. 2;or atransverse pin or set-screw or other device capable of readyapplication and removal, and serving to effect the secure retention ofthe spindle, may be employed.

In Fig.7 I have shown a modification of the devices for driving thetransmitting-shaft G.

In this case the pulley F is carried by a spindle, F, adapted to fixedbearings, but having its continuityinterrupted by a universal joint, J,similar to the joint J, arms on the spindle F and on the shaft Gr beingconnected by two pairs of jointed links, W, lateral strain on which isprevented by means of a rod, 2, projecting from the spindle F andadapted to the tubular upper end of the shaft G. In this case, althoughthe construction and arrangement of the universal joint andexpansion-driving device are different from those sho'. n in Fig. 1, theelfect,so far as regards the rotation of the shaft G and the inclinationof the same, are precisely similar.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, in a cutting-machine, of atable, A, a driving pulley or spindle hung above the same, a framecarrying the knife and knife-operating devices, a shaft suspended fromtheeleva-ted driving pulley or spindle and serving-to transmit powerfrom the latter to the knife-operatin g dcvices,'a nniversaljoint forpermitting the inclination of said' shaft, a device connecting the shaftand-the driving pulley or spindle and capable of expansion andcontraction, and a universal joint between said shaft and theknife-operating devices, all substantially as set forth.

' 2. Thecombination of the transmitting'shaft G and spindle f with aniiiversal joint, comprising the two rings 3 y, and the three sets ofpivots, m, m, and a equidistantly arranged,

tion of the end of the spindle f of the knife- '20 operating devices, asset forth.

4. The combination of a grooved work table or plate with a framecarrying the knife and knife-operating gearing, and having a baseplateprovided with a lug adapted to the 25 grooves of said table or plate, asspecified.

5. The combination of the table A and pulley E with the pivoted frame M,carrying the shaft 1), with friction-wheel qand emery-wheel t, and thespringN for acting on said frame, as 30 set forth.

' In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WM. R. FOWLER.

Witnesses JAMES F. ToBIN, HARRY SMiTH.

